A recent Pew Research Center poll reveals that 88 percent of U.S. adults believe marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use. In the absence of action on Capitol Hill, states have taken the lead, demonstrating the need for national legislation that aligns with their progressive policies. This overwhelming public support underscores the need for Congress to do what only the federal government can: pass legislation to offer states and researchers clarity, and to support legal operators while undermining illegal markets.
We commend President Biden’s actions, including his 2022 pardons for people convicted of federal and D.C. simple-possession offenses and his support for rescheduling cannabis. These steps are commendable, but significant work still needs to be done. Bipartisan legislation such as the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (States) Act represents a critical opportunity to bridge the gap between state and federal policies on cannabis. The bill would resolve the banking access and capital lending issues that have made it harder for legal marijuana businesses to thrive, give law enforcement assistance to states that have chosen not to legalize or decriminalize marijuana, and make it easier for researchers to study marijuana. By aligning federal policy with state regulations, the States Act ensures safer legal cannabis markets and supports states that have chosen to legalize medicinal and adult-use cannabis while protecting those that have opted to maintain prohibition.
Importantly, this legislation also garners support from law enforcement organizations such as the Peace Officers Research Association of California and the Oregon Coalition of Police and Sheriffs. Their endorsements mark the first time these leading law enforcement groups have supported cannabis legislation.
It is vital that we rectify the injustices of past marijuana convictions. But we also have to look forward. The States Act is a pivotal step toward creating a coherent and effective national cannabis policy that will allow legal cannabis markets to operate safely and efficiently, provide economic benefits and avoid the mistakes and unfairness of the past.
Shanita Penny, Washington
The writer is co-executive director of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation.
Regarding the June 22 editorial, “D.C.’s jail is getting an update. Just not the one it needs.”:
The editorial discussing which of D.C.’s new jail projects should proceed first failed to address deep and urgently needed policy changes — and the alarming lack of transparency from the city’s Department of Corrections regarding current practices. Discussions about improving conditions at the D.C. jail have not included the urgent need for decarceration, enhanced oversight and ending the use of solitary confinement.
Counting people incarcerated both in the city jail and federal facilities, D.C. has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country. With the 2024 D.C. jail population reaching its highest level in the last five years, the best way to protect the rights and health of incarcerated people is to reduce the number of people jailed.
Ending the torturous practice of solitary confinement is a priority. Solitary confinement is proved to cause severe psychological harm. Reports that solitary is the default placement for people concerned for their safety or experiencing a mental health crisis are frequent, yet the DOC keeps the public in the dark about the extent of and justification for its use.
There must be immediate legislative action to address these human rights violations. The ERASE Solitary Confinement Act, introduced by D.C. Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1), would end the use of solitary confinement in D.C.’s jails. Passage of this legislation would ensure more humane treatment for all incarcerated residents. The council needs to hold a hearing on the ERASE Act without delay, and then pass it into law.
While the living conditions for people held in jail are crucial, how the DOC treats its incarcerated residents is equally significant. Ending solitary confinement and inhumane practices, while improving transparency and accountability, could transform our correctional system into one that rehabilitates and respects every individual’s dignity.
Jessica Sandoval, Silver Spring
The writer is national director of the Unlock the Box Campaign.
Leadership for D.C. schools
Regarding the June 22 Metro article “Assistant superintendent to lead education department in interim position”:
D.C. needs a permanent leader of its education department. That the city has a very long road is made very clear in a statistic cited at the end of this brief article: Of the students who were ninth-graders in the 2011-2012 school year, only 18 out of every 100 earned a postsecondary degree within six years of their high school graduation.
This is a sad reflection on the failure of our secondary schools to provide a successful bridge from high school to college. While not every student needs to attain a college diploma, we need a better graduation rate than 18 percent.
Martin Tillman, Washington
Regarding the June 22 Metro article “Spain tops Democrats’ vote to fill board seat”:
In Arlington’s Democratic primary for an open seat on its county board — essentially its city council — Julius D. “JD” Spain Sr. won a crowded contest with 52 percent of the vote. A whopping 95 percent of voters, who cast their ballots in a ranked-choice voting system, expressed their preference between Mr. Spain and the second-place finisher, Natalie U. Roy.
Earlier this month, we saw a very different outcome just over the state line. In the Democratic primary for D.C.’s open Ward 7 council seat, Wendell Felder, one of 10 candidates, won with less than 24 percent of the vote. The next two candidates came in with 20.2 percent and 20.1 percent of the vote, respectively, a difference of just 16 ballots.
The two races form a stark illustration of the value of ranked-choice voting. Voters in Arlington got to rank their top three candidates for the county board. If their first choice didn’t have a chance to win, their vote still counted for a backup choice who did, giving them a greater say in the outcome in a crowded race and giving candidates a better chance to build a real coalition. D.C. voters had no such luck, and Mr. Felder and his opponents did not have the opportunity to demonstrate that they had a mandate from their constituents.
By all measures, ranked-choice voting has been a logistical success in Arlington. In an exit poll, 88 percent of voters said it was easy and 67 percent said they would like to use it again; there were strong majorities of support across age and race.
D.C. has an opportunity to adopt the same voting method. If Initiative 83 makes November’s ballot, D.C. voters will have the chance to choose to use ranked-choice voting in primary and general elections, as well as to let independents vote in taxpayer-funded party primaries. (State law already allows most Virginia cities and counties to opt into ranked-choice voting for their local elections.) D.C. residents should seize this opportunity.
Lisa D. T. Rice, Washington
Liz White, Chesterfield, Va.
Ms. Rice leads Make All Votes Count D.C., which is backing Initiative 83. Ms. White is executive director of UpVote Virginia.
While it was heartening to see The Post report promptly on the results of the June 18 Democratic primary in Arlington, the most significant fact about that election is that not even 13 percent of registered voters cast ballots. That appallingly low turnout for an election that is essentially a proxy for November’s Arlington County Board election is a shocking example of how voters might be tuning out with regard to civic participation.
Margaret McKelvey, Arlington
Philip Kennicott’s June 23 review, “A library worthy of, well, Shakespeare,” did an excellent job of describing the new $80 million renovation of the Folger Shakespeare Library. He captured the tensions between the Folger’s efforts to reach out to the public and to expand the collection to include broader areas of interest such as race, Renaissance cooking, medicine and the role of the women, and its inability to detach itself from “bardolatry,” with its exhibition of 82 first folios displayed “like treasure in a vault, or corpses in a morgue.”
No one but the most die-hard Shakespeare scholars is interested in looking at 82 copies of the first folio. The Folger could use that space to create exhibits that would actually interest the public — and illustrate why Shakespeare studies can be interesting, fun and relevant.
Literary studies have been dying for some time, eclipsed by the STEM fields. It might be true, as Folger Director Michael Witmore told Mr. Kennicott, that “while the patient was on the table, we did everything we could.” But for an operation to be successful, the surgeon has to think about the best ways to reintegrate the patient into the world in which he’ll have to survive. Exhibiting 82 copies of the first folio is not going to help the Folger recover or interest the public the library needs to stay alive.
It’s not too late to rethink this. After the opening, replace the first folio exhibition with rotating exhibitions that will interest and inspire the public and illustrate why we need to keep paying attention to the bard. Shakespeare’s work is still relevant even if the folio exhibit is not.
Elisabeth Waugaman, Rockville
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